Unless otherwise indicated, the material below has not been prepared by Van Eck Associates Corporation or HardAssetsInvestor.com.
Neither assumes any liability for any content on a third-party website or material prepared by a third party.

A spike in the U.S. dollar to 20-month highs is pressuring commodities and stocks today. The greenback was last trading at 81.64, a gain of 0.18 percent after reaching 81.91 earlier — the best level since September 2010.

Meanwhile, Spanish 10-year bond yields — currently seen as the best gauge of eurozone sovereign debt fears — rose by 2 basis points to 6.09 percent.

Gold is back in correction mode after the recent recovery rally petered out near $1600/oz. However, the yellow metal still remains above the key $1533 support level. Gold was last trading lower by $7.55, or 0.48 percent, to $1560.95, while silver shed $0.40, or 1.42 percent, to $27.78.

Platinum lost $14.50, or 1 percent, to $1430.50 and palladium fell by $5.25, or 0.86 percent, to $606.

"As uncertainty mounts leading up to the June 17 Greek elections, we're more inclined to bet on a higher gold price but a Greek exit, while most likely fuelling considerable physical gold demand in Europe, could spark a sizeable deleveraging and dis-investment in financial markets," UBS said in a note.

"The paper gold market would not be immune to this selling. That is gold's risk and it's feasible to think the metal could fall below last week's low of $1,527 before ultimately rebounding sharply."Gold slips in line with euro ahead of EU meeting

Crude oil prices slipped back near the lowest levels of the year, as today's broad-based selling in financial markets weighs. Tuesday's news that Iran and the IAEA had reached an agreement for closer inspections of the country's nuclear facilities is not helping either.

"The agreement by Iran to let the inspectors in is a small step in potentially reducing the supply risk," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. "That feeds into the overall situation where demand is steady to somewhat soft against a background of more than adequate supplies."

Natural gas is lower today, as the fuel continues to have trouble breaking through resistance near $2.75/mmbtu. Gas was last trading to the downside by $0.05, or 1.66 percent, to $2.66.Natural gas prices' rise stirs optimism

Soybeans and wheat continue to sell off today, while corn stabilizes after Tuesday's nearly 6 percent plunge. Soy was last trading lower by $0.16, or 1.12 percent, to $13.67/bushel, while wheat lost $0.14, or 2.01 percent, to $6.72 and corn added $0.02, or 0.29 percent, to $5.99.

"I think wheat is being weakened by the stronger dollar, lower outside markets and better forecasts for rain in Russia and the U.S.," said Rabobank analyst Erin FitzPatrick. "We have had improved forecasts for rain in the U.S. wheat belts over the next week or so which is easing concerns about dryness there."

"The overall selloff in wheat and soybeans is also to do with what is going on in the background macro environment," FitzPatrick said. "We are seeing less support from short covering following the large recent large short position held by managed money in the CBOT wheat market."Wheat, soy falls on strong dollar, rain forecasts

Copper prices on Comex are down to a fresh four-month low amid ongoing macroeconomic worries. The industrial metal was last trading at $3.43/lb, a loss of $0.06, or 1.63 percent.

Copyright HardAssetsInvestor.com. May not republish or distribute without prior written consent. The materials provided on this Web site are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended to provide tax, legal, or investment advice.
Nothing contained on the Web site shall be considered a recommendation, solicitation, or offer to buy or sell a security to any person in any jurisdiction.